As visitors walk into the BD&E office, they immediately encounter core brand qualities. The brand color palette is consistent throughout the workspace, the BD&E logo is front and center, and Bella, our brand mascot and top dog, can be seen sprinting down the hallway and wagging her tail. Bella, a Golden Retriever and certified therapy dog, has been a member of the BD&E family throughout her 6 years of life, and has won the hearts of many throughout her tenure. She certainly has a place in the hearts of everyone in the office, but also with the many clients who stop in for a visit, and with other Foster Plaza employees who stop to pet her during walks around the office park. Did we mention that even the mailman left a bone in the mailbox for our pooch? Yes, Bella acts as a perfect brand ambassador and public relations executive, but there are also many other benefits to having pets in the workplace.

Virginia Commonwealth University conducted a study indicating that pets in the workplace lead to lower levels of stress among employees thanks to a decrease in cortisol, the stress-causing hormone. With so much creativity happening here at BD&E, sometimes we need a brain break, and playing with Bella is the perfect solution. Dogs in the workplace are also linked to productivity. 25% of workers believe that having a dog in the office leads to increased productivity, and 55% of workers indicated that they would feel more motivated with a pet in the office. Despite the benefits, still only 16% of offices allow pets.

Bella really is the top dog here at BD&E. Not only does every BD&E e-newsletter contain the “Bella Update,” but she also has her own business cards, email account, YouTube channel and most recently an Instagram account. Follow her at @bella_topdog for the obligatory cute photos and videos, and also for a behind the scenes look at current BD&E happenings. If you would like to contact Bella, you can email her directly

Instagram, one of the fastest growing social media platforms to date, continues its journey to the top of the social media landscape. What started as a way for wannabe photographers to show off their mobile uploads has turned into an all inclusive artistic interface that now includes video.

Instagram clearly took note of the slow yet widespread growth of Vine, an app focused solely on video. Not only does Instagram include the same editing features that Vine users have come to know and love, but the app also allows users to record longer video clips (15 seconds, compared to Vine’s 6 seconds). Unsurprisingly, filters, Instagram’s claim to fame, have also been incorporated into the app’s video feature. Instagram users can now choose from 13 video filters to further enhance their cinematic masterpiece. Read more of this post

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As a strategic branding and marketing communications firm, BD&E is full of creative types utilizing a full complement of Adobe products on a daily basis. So, when one of our favorite programs is showcased, we can’t help but take notice. To advertise Adobe Creative Days, the software company decided to film a “Live Photoshop” prank at a Swedish bus stop. Photographers captured images of pedestrians, and a behind-the-scenes artist transformed the photographs into creative layouts that were displayed real-time on a kiosk in front of their unsuspecting subjects. Erik Johansson was the Swedish Photoshop artist behind the prank, and victims and viewers alike enjoyed the creative entertainment. The commercial was even among the top 20 most-shared ads on YouTube during the month of June.